Iraq and Afghanistan

LEADING THE EFFORT IN CONGRESS TO END WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN TROOPS

Please know that I will continue to stand with the brave men and women in our armed forces.  They have done everything that has been asked of them, and have done so with honor.  As they return home we must continue support with them and provide the access to physical and mental health care, and job and educational assistance that they have so rightly earned.  That’s why I passed legislation to expand the Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) for family members of those in the armed forces.  This first-ever expansion was signed into law and now families will be able to take job-protected leave to prepare for a deployment or to care for an injured family member.

AFGHANISTAN
President Barack Obama announced that he would begin a drawdown – not a complete redeployment – in Afghanistan .  This decision is a profound disappointment.  My hope was that the President would offer an Afghanistan troop drawdown that is significant, swift, and sizeable and would lead to a complete redeployment of troops and military contractors.  His proposal fails on all three counts.

After ten years in Afghanistan, the country remains in chaos, the government remains corrupt and ineffective, and we are suffering more casualties and are poised to spend more money than ever.  I have given over 425 speeches in support of redeployment and a renewed focus on a smart security platform.  We don’t need a surge of combat troops, we need a surge of civilians to provide economic, political, and reconstruction support as we help restore stability in Afghanistan.

We must have specific plans laying out a complete and timely redeployment from Afghanistan. That’s why I introduced H.R. 651, a bill calling on the President to sign an agreement with Afghan government setting an end date for our military presence.  I will continue to monitor the situation in Afghanistan as I work to support policies that will bring peace and stability to the region.

IRAQ
After 105 excruciating months, after so much heartbreak and despair, after so many shameful episodes –such as Abu Ghraib, the outing of Valerie Plame, the ``Mission Accomplished'' banner and so much more – our troops are finally home from Iraq.

Much credit goes to President Obama for making good on his promise.  When he was sworn into office, there were 142,000 U.S. servicemembers deployed to Iraq; now they have returned home.

Of course, no one displayed more courage than the heroic men and women who served in Iraq with honor and selflessness.  They represent the best our Nation has to offer.   I honor the sacrifice of every American who has served in Iraq.  I welcome their safe arrival back home and a happy reunion with their families.

Since the U.S. first invaded Iraq, the subsequent devastation to the United States and Iraq was tremendous.  As a direct result of this occupation, 4,484 American servicemembers lost their lives and more than 30,000 have been wounded.  We must be careful about turning this into an occasion of triumph or celebration.  The end of the Iraq War is welcome, but tragically, overdue.  Too much has been lost in precious American blood, in badly needed public treasure, and in our moral core as a nation.

Many thousands more are home from Iraq with broken minds and bodies, with scars they will carry for the rest of their days. We must keep our promise to them to provide the benefits that they so need and deserve.

Our military occupation in Iraq is over, but our bilateral engagement with Iraq most certainly will go on. There is still plenty of human need in Iraq, and we must have an obligation to help alleviate that.

It is critical that the United States be a peaceful and constructive partner with Iraq, investing in development, providing the civilian support that will empower its people, and strengthening its democratic institutions.  Now is the moment.  Now, more than ever, we must move to a smarter security in Iraq.

 (Updated April 2012)